Reformation in Hungary

The church in the Hungarian kingdom has always occupied a privileged position. The highest church officials were members of the state council and even headed the court office, and also had significant representation in the upper house of the state assembly. In addition, the church had large land plots, the population was taxed by numerous taxes and duties. That is why the spread of the teachings of Luther found numerous responses among the peasantry, townspeople and small nobles.

Lutheran ideas entered Hungary shortly after Martin Luther nailed his “ 95 theses ” to the gates of the Wittenberg Palace Church in 1517. German merchants brought him with him, so it was first distributed among the German population of Hungary. The next “messengers of the Reformation” were students studying in Wittenberg and other German cities.

At first, the Hungarian nobility saw only danger in the Lutheran movement. The country, already fragmented by the conquerors, could be finally ruined by internal religious wars. In 1521, the Worms Edict was even issued, declaring Martin Luther a criminal. The publication and distribution of his works was banned.

The fragmentation of the state and took advantage of the first Protestant preachers . They traveled through the territories occupied by the Turks and spread Reformed ideas among the ordinary urban population. The settlements that joined the stream immediately rebuilt their churches: statues and paintings were taken out of them, and priests were invited to either join the Reformation or leave the parishes, where Lutheran pastors immediately took their places.

In cities, the Reformation received special support from small nobles and merchants. The Reformation movements did not limit their class rights and provided greater freedom for non-clerical classes. The feudal lords used the Reformation to seize church lands . The new doctrine was necessarily imposed on serfs, which artificially created a greater number of people who switched sides. ^[one]

In 1526, Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Mojac . In 1541, the Turks conquered Buda and divided the country into three parts: the northwest went to the Habsburgs, the central part to the Ottoman Empire, Transylvania remained more or less independent, but it fell into vassal dependence on the Ottomans .. ^[2] This became the basis to strengthen Protestant ideas. In the Turkish occupied territories, Protestantism is most prevalent because it is beneficial to the Ottoman Empire: Hungary, crushed by religious contradictions, will not be able to resist.

Lutheranism was the first to come to Hungary. However, it did not receive much distribution - it was considered the "German religion", therefore they were suspicious of it. In 1545, a synod was held in Ardude , at which Hungarian Lutherans adopted the basic tenets of their church.

Anabaptism spread among the lower strata of the population. It was dominated by the ideas of social equality, brotherhood and eternal peace, which God must bring to the earth (that is, the idea of ​​a people's revolution was denied). One of the branches was unitarism . His followers denied many dogmas, such as the Divine Trinity, and affirmed a single god.

The most widespread Swiss trend of Calvinism . And although it did not fully reflect the interests of all segments of the population who wished the fall of the Catholic Church, in 1567 a synod took place in Chenger , at which the main tenets of the trend were approved. The founder of the Calvinist movement in Hungary is Matthias Biro. But the fundamental for the Calvinist movement in Hungary was the Debrecen Synod, which accepted the Second Helvetian Confession as the main religion of the church. ^[3]

The unhindered spread of Reformed teachings in the territories occupied by the Ottoman Empire led to the end of the 16th century. 95% of Hungarians were Protestants, mostly Calvinists. Only in territories controlled by the Habsburgs was the process stopped by harsh counter-reformation measures. However, in 1568 in Transylvania (the epicenter of Protestantism, Calvinism in particular, in Hungary), the Tolerance Act was passed, which recognized for everyone the right to choose a religion, which was recognized by four: the Roman Catholic Church , Lutheranism , Calvinism , Unitarianism . After the rebellion of Istvan Bochkai in 1604-1606. Austrian authorities were forced to give relief on their part of Hungary for the Protestants. The first Calvinist churches began to be organized. After 1606, Protestants were allowed to appoint their own bishops and superintendents. ^[four]

Protestant movements spurred the development of culture in the country. Schools and universities began to open, in particular , the University of Debrecen was founded in 1538, today it is one of the oldest and best universities in Europe. In 1590, Caroli Gaspard first translated the Bible into Hungarian, and in 1606, the Psalter and Catechism were translated into Hungarian by Albert Sensi Molnar. Three of these books are still used in modern worship. ^[five]

The struggle against reformist movements in territories controlled by Austria did not stop from the very beginning of their appearance. During the reign of Emperor Rudolph II , repressions and other tough methods of combating heresy began to be used. The restoration of the Catholic faith in Austrian possessions was carried out with the support of the Jesuit Order . Mass prosecutions of Protestants began.

In the thirties of the XVII century. Archbishop of Esztergom Peter Pazman (1616–1637) led the fight against reform. Under his influence, many large landowners again became Catholics. Together with them, they were obliged to return to their "true faith" all their households and peasants. Numerous Jesuit schools began to open, in which exclusively Catholic dogmas were instilled with intolerance to all Protestant movements. ^[one]

One of the major milestones of the counter-reformation in Hungary was the Bloody Court in Požoni in 1673 . More than 400 Protestant priests appeared before the imperial court. They were accused of high treason and offered to either become Catholics, or leave the country forever. Some of them agreed to one of these options, but a particularly loyal group refused to renounce their beliefs and their country. They were convicted, deprived of their dignities, and sent to galleys.

The end of the XVII - the beginning of the XVIII centuries. passed under the strict control of Protestantism by the Habsburgs, especially after the Turks were expelled from Hungary. Imperial decrees limited the rights of Hungarian Protestants in almost all areas of life. In 1731, the Resolutio Carolina, an anti-protestant act issued by Charles VI , established the following rules for Protestants:

• public Protestant services could be conducted only in the western regions of the country, in other territories only closed private services.
   

  Edict of Tolerance 1781
• Protestants were prohibited from public meetings.
• Protestant priests were to live only on specially designated territories.
• marriages between Protestants were subject to control by the local Catholic bishop.
• mixed marriages between Protestants Catholics were carried out only according to the Catholic rite and children were brought up in the Catholic faith.

In 1781, the Edict of Tolerance made significant concessions for Protestants. Departure of the Protestant service was publicly permitted in areas where at least 100 Protestant families lived. Protestants were relieved of the obligation to celebrate Catholic holidays. There have also been changes in marriage. Protestant marriages were now controlled by local courts, and children born into mixed marriages were to be Catholics only if it was their father’s faith. ^[6]

As a result of this policy, during the reign of Charles VI and his daughter Maria Theresa, Protestants were persecuted. The influx of Catholic emigrants from Germany and tough state and administrative measures led to the fact that by the beginning of the XIX century. the number of Catholics in Hungary was two and a half times the number of Protestants. ^[7]

• Hungarian Reformed Church

• Official website of the Hungarian Reformed Church (Hung.)